rival â Colonel Forster, with a warm handshake.
âTake a pew, old boy. Iâm just treating this pop group over here to lunch â theyâre going to be in some contest over in Camomile Cove,â Grandpa explained, looking at the girls, who were practising the chorus of thenew song as they waited for their lunch to arrive.
âAh! The talent contest. My granddaughter Lilacâs in that too,â replied the Colonel. âRemember, my daughter Martha is married to Hugh Farrington, the headmaster of Smugglerâs Cove High School? Sheâs a lovely girl, their daughter, Lilac. What a talent,â he continued as he sat down. âSheâs just like my Martha. Yâknow, Martha shouldâve been on the stage. Verynearly was a star, was our Martha!â
âIs that right, Philip?â asked Grandpa, rolling his eyes. Everything in the Colonelâs world was always bigger, better and more successful than anyone elseâs.
âIn fact,â continued Colonel Forster. âIâve rented a cottage over in Camomile Cove to be near the family during the contest â and to take a trip down memory lane. Remember the year I discovered the wreck of an old pirate ship in the cave at Sandy Bottom? What a lot of work I did on that!â
â
You
found it, you say?
I
saw it first and showed it to you, Philip Forster!â replied Grandpa. âAnd I cut the timber to repair it, remember?â
The two elderly men bickered affectionately about who had been responsible for discovering the ship and restoring it. They were still as competitive as they had been when they wereschoolboys, and the Colonelâs talk of taking a cottage in Camomile Cove had set Grandpa thinking . . .
After lunch, once all the girls were safely back home, Grandpa settled down in his sitting room to make some telephone calls.
âSilly old fool,â he chuckled to himself. âYouâve got to beat the Colonel to that old pirate ship, havenât you?â
The next day, which was Sunday, Grandpa, Granny Bumble and Honey came over for lunch at Poppyâs house, just like they did every week. It was a Cotton family tradition and Poppy loved it. It was as if they were one big happy family, even though Granny Bumble and Honey were not actually related to her.
When Grandpa arrived for lunch, bringing his usual gift of some flowers from his garden and a box of chocolates, he looked very pleased with himself indeed.
âWhatâs up with you, Dad?â asked Poppyâs mum. âWhy the big grin?â
âWell, Iâve got a surprise for everyone,â replied Grandpa. âSit down and Iâll tell you all about it.â
They looked at Grandpa as he began to speak â none of them had any idea what the surprise might be but they couldnât wait to find out!
âNow, you know the girls are competing in
Youâre a Star!
in a couple of weeksâ time? Well, I thought it might be nice to stay in Camomile Cove since thatâs where the contest is, so Iâve rented a lovely new beach-front lodge there. Itâs called The Pebbles and it sleeps ten, so thereâs roomfor all of us. I went to see it late yesterday afternoon and itâs wonderful. We have it for a week starting from next Sunday. I know itâs all a bit last minute, but I hope you think itâll be fun.â
âHow exciting,â said Poppyâs mum. âIt sounds amazing. Thank you, Dad!â
âOh, I am glad you like the idea,â smiled Grandpa. âNot only will the Beach Babes be able to rehearse as much as they like but we can all have a fine seaside holiday, which I think weâre in need of.â (He left out the bit about the house being fancier than Colonel Forsterâs rented cottage, and even nearer to where he thought the old pirate ship was!)
Poppyâs parents were thrilled with Grandpaâs surprise about the beach house. They couldnât